Flights to and from Melbourne, Tasmania and New Zealand have come to a halt as Australian airlines take no chances after a plume of volcanic ash from South America was detected in their airspace.
Up to 30,000 passengers around Australia and New Zealand found themselves without a flight to their destination and with no choice but to either bunk down at the airport or look for other accommodation.
Hotels near Melbourne Airport were booked out by passengers optimistic they can fly out on Monday.
Heavy morning fog at Melbourne Airport before the ash scare and cancellations compounded the woes of travellers hoping to take advantage of a long weekend.
The Puyehue volcano in Chile began erupting on June 4, with the initial ash plume reaching 15,240m (50,000 feet) into the atmosphere.
The volcanic cloud reached trans-Tasman airspace on Saturday night and is expected to remain for the next few days.
Qantas grounded all 14 flights in and out of Tasmania, while eight flights between Australia and Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown were abandoned, leaving 8000 passengers stranded.
Jetstar cancelled 92 flights all up, including 12 between Australia and New Zealand, 24 between Tasmania and the mainland, and 30 domestic New Zealand flights affecting 12,000 passengers.
Jetstar said it was offering passengers either deferred travel, re-routing options or a full refund or voucher.
"We continue to review the situation and should future flights be affected, we will notify passengers directly," it said in a statement.
Virgin Australia continued to fly until 7pm (AEST), when it joined the other airlines in staying on the ground, affecting 8000 passengers.
Tiger halted services on the affected routes from 6pm, cancelling 12 flights and leaving almost 2000 passengers to bide their time.
"As a natural disaster, the situation is outside the airline's control," a spokeswoman for the airline said.
Airservices Australia said the volcanic plume could affect air travel for the next few days.
It said the main ash cloud had reached airspace in southern Tasmania and New Zealand's South Island but it was expected to pass to the south of the Australian mainland.
But the northern edge of the cloud was expected to reach Victoria, southern NSW and the ACT, although it was also diffusing.
"This part of the ash cloud is not expected to impact southeast Australia beyond a day, but other parts of the ash cloud are being closely watched in case they move over Australia," the statement said.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the ash is starting to fade from satellite view.
Up to 30,000 passengers around Australia and New Zealand found themselves without a flight to their destination and with no choice but to either bunk down at the airport or look for other accommodation.
Hotels near Melbourne Airport were booked out by passengers optimistic they can fly out on Monday.
Heavy morning fog at Melbourne Airport before the ash scare and cancellations compounded the woes of travellers hoping to take advantage of a long weekend.
The Puyehue volcano in Chile began erupting on June 4, with the initial ash plume reaching 15,240m (50,000 feet) into the atmosphere.
The volcanic cloud reached trans-Tasman airspace on Saturday night and is expected to remain for the next few days.
Qantas grounded all 14 flights in and out of Tasmania, while eight flights between Australia and Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown were abandoned, leaving 8000 passengers stranded.
Jetstar cancelled 92 flights all up, including 12 between Australia and New Zealand, 24 between Tasmania and the mainland, and 30 domestic New Zealand flights affecting 12,000 passengers.
Jetstar said it was offering passengers either deferred travel, re-routing options or a full refund or voucher.
Virgin Australia continued to fly until 7pm (AEST), when it joined the other airlines in staying on the ground, affecting 8000 passengers.
Tiger halted services on the affected routes from 6pm, cancelling 12 flights and leaving almost 2000 passengers to bide their time.
"As a natural disaster, the situation is outside the airline's control," a spokeswoman for the airline said.
Airservices Australia said the volcanic plume could affect air travel for the next few days.
It said the main ash cloud had reached airspace in southern Tasmania and New Zealand's South Island but it was expected to pass to the south of the Australian mainland.
But the northern edge of the cloud was expected to reach Victoria, southern NSW and the ACT, although it was also diffusing.
"This part of the ash cloud is not expected to impact southeast Australia beyond a day, but other parts of the ash cloud are being closely watched in case they move over Australia," the statement said.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the ash is starting to fade from satellite view.
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